What better place to mount a spirited revival of Mozartʼs La clemenza di Tito than the Estates Theatre in Prague? The composer himself conducted the première there as part of the coronation celebration for Leopold II, crowned Holy Roman Emperor in September 1791. The reception was lukewarm – Empress Maria Luisa complained the next day that “nearly all of us fell asleep” – and La clemenza is still considered one of Mozartʼs lesser efforts. But in the hands of French conductor and opera impresario Marc Minkowski, less is more.
Commissioned to write the opera on short notice (less than two months, after Antonio Salieri turned down the job), Mozart was also saddled with a creaky, 60-year-old libretto and a format – opera seria – that was already outdated. The dazzling work that he was doing at the same time on Die Zauberflöte is one of the reasons scholars have long dismissed Clemenza as little more than an opportunity to make some quick cash. Even in Prague, where devoted fans loved every note Mozart ever wrote, Clemenza was staged a total of four times over the past century.
Minkowski, a Baroque specialist who recently concluded four years as Artistic Director of Mozartwoche Salzburg, precluded many of the format problems by presenting Clemenza as a semi-staged production. It was a convincing demonstration that not much more than a few simple props, costumes and acting skills are needed to carry the storyline, a contrived series of romantic and political complications that give Roman Emperor Tito an opportunity to show he can be a munificent ruler. The recitatives did not bring the action to a grinding halt, and with the orchestra seated onstage, the focus was squarely where it belonged – on the music.
Minkowskiʼs interpretation of Mozart was at once authoritative and elegant. The sound was compact and tightly disciplined, yet played with a verve and zest that more typically characterizes a Rossini romp. Minkowski took full advantage of every nuance in the score, and liked to linger over beautiful moments. For Sestoʼs “Parto, parto” aria in the first act and Vitelliaʼs “Non più di fiori” in the second, he brought the obbligato accompanists (clarinet and bass clarinet, respectively) to the front of the stage for enchanting duets with the singers. And standing literally next to the singers during other arias, he was able to match their breathing and phrasing to give them exceptional support.